Select Regions

Emanuel Maiberg
Dec 20, 2013

Page 1 of 10

Independent Argentinian developer
Miguel Ángel Pérez Martínez
describes his game, Fa'el: Beyond the Gate, as "an action/exploration adventure game inside a delightful 2.75D world filled with pixel art that bends around itself and inside out." Not 3D. Not 2D. Not even the rare 2.5D. We're talking about a previously undiscovered dimension in gaming: 2.75D.

It sounds a little nutty, but it actually makes sense if you watch the impressive trailer above. The way it treats depth and allows you to enter different structures reminds me of Fez, but things get a little weirder when the character blinks into what looks like a separate plane from the game, picks up a power-up, then blinks back and uses it to eliminate all the enemies on the screen. It also has a unique art style, clearly inspired by 16-bit graphics, but built with 3D models instead of sprites.

Even nuttier is that Fa'el: Beyond the Gate will interact with a companion app. Sure, I hear you saying, plenty of games these days have companion apps for your iOS or Android device—it's all the rage. But Fa'el's companion app, Beyond the Edge, will be released as a free, downloadable Game Boy ROM image. Obviously, getting a Game Boy ROM to work on an emulator is a tad more complicated than buying and downloading a game from Steam, so Beyond the Edge will not be required to play the PC game. Instead, as you progress it will give you passwords which you can feed into the PC game to unlock yet to be detailed content. Crazy, ambitious, and very cool.

Community:

Magazine:

PC Gamer is the global authority on PC games. For more than 20 years we have delivered unrivaled coverage, in print and online, of every aspect of PC gaming. Our team of experts brings you trusted reviews, component testing, strange new mods, under-the-radar indie projects and breaking news around-the-clock. From all over the world we report on the stuff that you’ll find most interesting, and gives your PC gaming experience the biggest boost.